2: THE MORNING AFTER

Lili McGuire woke up to an eerie silence. She stretched her arms, yawning, and sat up in bed. Her room looked the same: the same Straykids posters on the wall, Seungmin photocards arranged neatly on her kpop merch shelf, in her "room's special corner", the same messy desk, and the same cozy "PuppyM Skzoo" bedspread But something felt off. Everything seemed different... Everything Felt different. Almost like she wasn't really there, but again, there she was.. Live in flesh in her bizarre reality.

She threw off the covers and got out of bed. Her feet touched the cold floor, and she shivered. She walked to the window and pulled back the curtains. The sun was shining, casting a warm glow over the neighborhood. But the streets were empty, and an unsettling stillness hung in the air.

Lili's mind became unsettled, Her heart beat getting faster and faster by the minute . She felt a growing sense of unease. Something was wrong.

She quickly got dressed, put on her "Puppy M skzoo" slippers and ran downstairs to the kitchen. Her mom was usually making breakfast at this time, but the kitchen was empty. The silence was deafening.

She didn't hear the sounds of her little siblings voices or feet running,

"Lili, good morning!" a voice called from the living room.

Lili's heart skipped a beat. Her mom sounded a little different. It was the same, but it lacked the warmth and love that her mom's voice always carried, it felt empty.

She cautiously walked into the living room. A woman who looked like her mom was sitting on the couch. She had the same blonde hair, the same blue eyes, and the same bright smile. But there was something different about her, something that made Lili's skin crawl, the smile was too perfect, her eyes were too pretty, Her aura was way too creepy.

"Mom?" Lili whispered loudlytrying to keep her voice steady, her voice was shaken. Things were just too different

The woman laughed. "yes dear, is everything fine?."

Lili's eyes narrowed. "Yeah...yeah..of course..umm... Where's Jamie and Theo? Are they still asleep."

"Jamie and theo who?" The woman asked back smiling.

Lili scoffed a little. "My little twin brothers, you know, your son?"

Her mom smiled off the idea. "Oh dear aren't you being silly.

The woman's smile faltered for a moment before she regained her composure. "Of course I am, sweetie. You must be feeling a bit confused this morning, you're our only child silly."

Lili's mind was racing. What was going on?.

She ran to her siblings room..At least where she thought the room would be but getting there she only saw the walls, the room was seemingly just Non-existent.

Confusion took over her as she tried to fathom what was going on, "JAMIE... THEO???" She called out but got no response from either of them.

She ran downstairs to their playroom but still didn't see them, Ran to the garden, the Tool room, The backyard, back into the house and up the balcony..still no sign of them.

This was getting serious.

Her mom ran to her "Lili dear, who are these people you're looking for frantically?" Her expressions empty but giving off worried.

"My siblings... Jamie?.." She replied as she shook her head slowly waiting for a response "..Theo??.."

Her mom was silent, seeming she was trying to understand, just looking into her eyes.

"I have no idea, Are you hallucinating? Should we go to the hospital?"

Lili busted out with so much annoyance "If this is some kind of joke stop it it's not funny, Mom!".

"Lili I sincerely don't know what you're talking about". Her mother's small smile disappeared immediately.

Suddenly, a man met them at the balcony. He looked like Lili's dad, but he had the same eerie, unnatural quality as the woman.

"Hey, kiddo!" he said, ruffling Lili's hair. "What's going on? Heard you yelling?"

Lili ignored the eerieness she felt.

Her mother replied to him in her stead "Apparently she thinks she has two younger siblings named Johnson and Leo".

"Jamie and Theo!" She corrected firmly.

Her Dad tried to put her arms round her for reassurance, "Don't touch me!" Lili sneared as she slapped his hand away.

"Kiddo calm down okay, whatever's going on we can help" Her Dad said.

Lili looked them in the eyes, she walked away from them towards the entrance, she narrowed her eyes and stared at them blankly "who even are you people? I know you aren't my parents"

Lili's eyes darted between the two strangers. She felt like she was trapped in some kind of bizarre dream.

"I want my real mom and dad," she said, her voice shaking.

The woman and man exchanged a glance. For a moment, Lili saw something flicker in their eyes, something that looked almost like fear.

"We are your real mom and dad, Lili," the woman said, her voice firm but forced.

Lili knew she had to get out of there. She turned and ran back upstairs to her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

She leaned against the door, panting. What was happening? Why were these strangers pretending to be her parents?

She looked around her room, feeling a sense of desperation. She had to find a way to escape, to find her real parents.

But as she looked around, she realized that something was off. Her room seemed...different. The furniture was the same, but it seemed to be arranged slightly differently. And there were things on her shelves and desk that she didn't recognize.

A cold dread crept over Lili. What if she wasn't just dealing with fake parents? What if her whole world had been turned upside down? Everything was just just eerily unreal .

She felt a surge of fear and uncertainty. But she knew she had to be brave. She had to find a way to uncover the truth and take back control of her life.

Lili took a deep breath and began to search her room for clues. She searched every inch of her room, but she couldn't find anything out of the ordinary,

As she searched, she looked at her mini framed, family photo, that was taken during their vacation in Seychelles and realized her brothers were no longer in the picture, She picked it up to examine carefully.

"What?" She asked to herself quietly with a mix of fear and confusion, she also noticed her window had been opened. She could have sworn she had it closed all night and felt a shiver run down her spine as she realized that someone might have been in her room while she was sleeping.

Lili's heart was racing as she tried to process what was happening. She felt like she was living in a nightmare.

Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from outside her room. It sounded like footsteps. Lili's heart skipped a beat as she realized that the fake parents might be coming for her.

She quickly locked her door and barricaded herself inside. She was determined to protect herself, no matter what.

As she waited, she heard the footsteps get louder. They were definitely coming from outside her room. Lili's heart was racing as she wondered what would happen next.

The footsteps stopped outside her door. Lili held her breath, waiting for whatever was on the other side of the door to make its move.

But as she waited, she realized that something was off. The footsteps had stopped, but she could sense that someone was...still standing outside her door. She could feel their presence, like a faint humming in the air. But there was something strange about it, something that didn't feel quite right.

Lili's curiosity got the better of her, and she slowly got up from the bed and approached the door. She pressed her ear against the door, trying to listen for any sound.

But there was nothing. No breathing, no movement, no sound of any kind. It was as if the person on the other side of the door had vanished into thin air.

Lili's heart was still racing, but she felt a sense of confusion and uncertainty. What was going on? Who was on the other side of the door, and why had they stopped making noise?

She slowly backed away from the door, her eyes fixed on the doorknob. She was waiting for it to turn, for the door to open and reveal whoever was on the other side.

But the doorknob didn't turn. The door didn't open. And Lili was left standing there, frozen in uncertainty.

As she stood there, she began to feel a sense of unease. Something was off, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

And then, suddenly, she heard a faint whispering in her ear. It was a soft, raspy voice, and it seemed to be coming from all around her.

"Lili," the voice whispered. "You don't know what's real and what's not. You don't know what's true and what's a lie."

Lili spun around, trying to see who was speaking to her. But there was no one there. The room was empty, except for her.

The whispering stopped, and Lili was left standing there, feeling confused and scared. What was going on? Who was playing tricks on her?

And then, suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps again. This time, they were coming from downstairs.

Lili's heart skipped a beat as she realized that someone - or something - was coming for her. She knew she had to get out of there, fast.

She quickly grabbed her backpack and ran to the window. She threw it open and climbed out onto the fire escape.

As she climbed down the ladder, she heard the sound of the front door opening. She didn't look back, she just kept climbing down, her heart pounding in her chest.

She finally reached the ground and took off running. She didn't know where she was going, she just knew she had to get away.

As she ran, she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. She didn't look back, she just kept running.

Is this a dream?, this can't be real, this has to be a dream. Lili wake up!!.

But right then, she tripped over a rock and fell hard and flat on her face, At least now she was sure definitely wasn't dreaming.

She picked herself up and continued to run as fast as her legs could carry and to where ever the wind blew, all she knew was, she had to leave!.

As she turned back while running, she saw to weird figures chasing after her, but they weren't running, they were glitching forward.

Fast!

Very fast...

Lili screamed as she ran with every last bone in her body, as fast as she could, faster than she ever had to run.

Suddenly she felt a burst of light from behind her, she immediately lost her eye sight, which caused her to trip and fall.

Finally, regaining her eye sight after what felt like an eternity, she saw felt herself on a hardwood floor, she was gasping for breath and felt a sense of calm.

Her eyesight became clearer but her breath was caught slowly from the hot pursuit. She looked around, trying to get her bearings. The coffee shop was empty, except for a figure sitting in the corner.

It was a girl, about Lili's age. She had long, curly brown hair and piercing green eyes. She was sipping on a cup of coffee, watching Lili with an intensity that made her skin crawl.

"Hi, Lili," the girl said, her voice low and husky. "Finally you're better, we have to leave now it's not safe here."

Lili's heart skipped a beat as she realized that this girl knew her name. How exactly did she know her name?

And for some reason, the voice was familiar . Was This girl was the one who had been whispering in her ear?. This girl was the one who had been playing tricks on her?

"Who are you? What's going on? How'd you know my name?." Lili asked standing on her two feeth while trying to gain her balance and rubbing her eyes

The girl stood up slowly revealing she was wearing a long black robe with a hoodie. "I'm Ezra, Someone who can explain what's happening, Someone whom you need right now and as for your name, I know more about you than you do about yourself"

The girl came closer and stood directly in front of Lili who was still trying to catch her breath.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'll explain soon, but we don't have time".

The girl said as she stood in the middle of the coffee shop and strated making flowy wavy movements with her hands, her eyes were closed as she was deep in concentration.

Lili was confused seeing the girl and trying to understand what she was doing.

She turned to the door and saw those creatures again, they were trying to get in.

"Umm.. Ezra, your plan to make us leave would be really useful now".

Ezra ignored her while continuing to cast a spell.

Lili's heart started to beat faster and faster with fear.

She watched Ezra as her eyes started to glow, along with her body.

The light, was blinding.

For a split second, Lili saw her parents at the door.

"Open up for us Lili, we're your parents those creatures will get us" Her mom crying.

"Mom?" She wanted to be sure she wasn't seeing things.

Suddenly everything went dark.